Van Mater lists her father as her inspiration for her annual trips to Port Au Prince, Haiti
Some kids spend a lot of their time following the popular trends, whether it’s dying their hair a certain color or sporting a trendy T-shirt. Then there are kids like Washington Township’s KC Van Mater, a sophomore who is taking her fifth trip to Haiti this June to volunteer at the Greater Works Home for Girls in Port Au Prince. There are 38 girls in the home, and ages range from 3 to 22.
“What really inspired me was my dad,” KC said. “He saw how the girls lived and the pure joy that they had.”
The Greater Works Home for Girls is undergoing a major transition which is why the Van Mater family is making the excursion to Haiti.
“The orphanage is transitioning from their current leader to a new one,” KC said. “We’re going down for moral support for the girls because they’re comfortable with us. They wanted us to be there for them in their time of transition.”
No two trips are the same for the Van Mater family. KC went on to explain what she has done in her past four trips. From taking the girls to a museum, running a vacation Bible school, hosting a soccer camp, to even appearing as a bridesmaid in one of the girl’s weddings, KC and her family have become integral parts of these young Haitian women’s lives.
The most important thing KC and her family do when in Haiti is packing food for the Haitian people. KC’s father, Jim Van Mater, went on to explain the importance of the food packing.
“We purchase the food in bulk in Haiti so it goes back to their economy,” Jim said. “We sit down with the girls in the orphanage and break down the food we buy into family-size portions. Each family gets a bag of food — that bag will feed a family of four for a week.”
The relationships that KC has built with the girls in Haiti are paramount in her life. She said they’re like her second family. Just like any family, KC wants the best for them. She explained her goals for beyond her fifth trip.
“I just want to continue to bring awareness to that region itself. I tell all my friends about it and let people know how the people in Haiti live,” KC explained. “I plan on going at least once a year because they’re like my second family. I want to build a relationship with the girls and give them hope. I want to show them that people care about them and they’re not alone.”
There are many great things that come out of her trips to Haiti, but the thing that makes it most worthwhile to KC is the relationships she builds with the girls at the orphanage.
“They look up to you and attach to you. They have such open hearts,” she said. “All the people in Haiti, you can just see they have so little but they have so much love in their hearts.”
KC went on to explain the difference between the culture in Haiti and the United States.
“It’s a whole different mindset down there, they’re so thankful for everything we do for them,” she said.
When it comes down to it, the thing KC really wants is for her school to get involved as well.
For more information, contact St. John’s United Methodist Church at stjohns.office@discoverstjohns.org or call it at (856) 227–6567.
